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A new biography of McGlashan, John appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

John McGlashan, the eldest son of John McGlashan and his
wife, Mary, was born on 2 November 1802 in Cannongate,
Edinburgh, where his father was in turn an auctioneer,
furniture dealer, valuer, and warehouseman. After four years
at the Edinburgh High School, McGlashan attended classes at
Edinburgh University and was articled to Andrew Crombie, a
solicitor. In 1824 he was admitted to membership of the
Society of Solicitors at Law. An academic lawyer, he was
unsuited to general practice, while the early onset of
deafness was a severe handicap. In 1830 he was appointed a
member of the Faculty of Admiralty Procurators. In the
following year he published his first legal handbook and was
appointed Commissioner for Proofs of the Sheriff Court of
Edinburgh, a position he held for 21 years. From 1832 to 1839
he was public examiner of the Society of Solicitors.

McGlashan was a devout adherent of the Free Church and
supported the proposed church settlement in Otago. He
accepted the position of secretary of the Otago Association
in October 1847, the appointment being retrospective from
August 1847 to April 1848, when he hoped to lead the second
party of emigrants and receive a legal appointment in the
colony. His secretarial duties comprised the administration
of the business affairs of the Association and the promotion
of the scheme through circulars, lectures, and the Otago
Journal, which he compiled and distributed. The
Edinburgh Committee was intended to direct Association
policy, but their activities were negligible and all
initiative rested with McGlashan. His task was difficult as
financial recession affected land sales, Church support was
negative, and the widely publicised dissensions within the
settlement discouraged a number of potential emigrants.
McGlashan endorsed the scheme of a class settlement
restricted to lowland Scots of Free Church persuasion and,
despite its limited success, adamantly opposed any
modification. After the collapse of the New Zealand Company
he sought a charter from the British Government to protect
“the exclusive class character” of Otago, but his lack of
statesmanship prejudiced the already difficult
negotiations.

In 1853 McGlashan and his family sailed in the
Rajah for Otago, where he was hailed as its founder
with Burns and Cargill. In January 1854 he was appointed to
the joint offices of Provincial Solicitor and Treasurer. The
following year he won the Western District seat in the Otago
Provincial Council and held it for eight years, being
Provincial Secretary and Solicitor, and also Secretary of the
Board of Education from 1855 to 1861. When deficiencies in
the public funds occurred during Macandrew's Superintendency,
McGlashan was suspected of involvement and obliged to resign
office. The investigation revealed him guilty only of
inefficient administration and in 1862 he was reappointed
Provincial Solicitor and Registrar of Deeds. The following
year he contested the Waikouaiti seat unsuccessfully against
Vogel.

McGlashan married Isabella Macewen in 1826, by whom he had
three sons and seven daughters. He died on 2 November 1864
from injuries received in a riding accident, leaving
unfinished his codification of the Provincial Ordinances.

His wife's name is commemorated in the Dunedin place name,
Balmacewen.

McGlashan lacked the qualities of greatness. Zealous but
unbusinesslike, dour and inflexible, he was unsuited to the
role of statesman for the Association. Religious convictions
and economic necessity combined to keep him at his post as
secretary while his frequent attempts to secure the promised
legal or civil service appointment in the colony suggest that
he realised his limitations as an administrator. His best
work was done in legal codification and his major
publications form a valuable contribution to the codification
of Scottish law. His religious convictions were deep and
sincere, and, as the first Clerk and Procurator of the Otago
Presbytery, he provided valuable assistance to Burns and
Bannerman in the work of establishing the Church of Otago on
a sound basis.

Co-creator

How to cite this page: 'McGLASHAN, John', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966.Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New ZealandURL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/1966/mcglashan-john (accessed 26 May 2019)